Smart charging battery systems and methods for electrified vehicles

ABSTRACT

A method includes controlling charging a battery pack of an electrified vehicle, via a control system of the electrified vehicle, based on climate conditions, traffic conditions, and learned driving habits of a driver of the electrified vehicle. The control system is configured to create a smart charging schedule for either adding or not adding an additional charge to the battery pack in anticipation of an expected upcoming drive cycle.

TECHNICAL FIELD

This disclosure relates to vehicle systems and methods for controllingcharging of electrified vehicle battery packs.

BACKGROUND

The desire to reduce automotive fuel consumption and emissions has beenwell documented. Therefore, electrified vehicles are being developedthat reduce or completely eliminate reliance on internal combustionengines. In general, electrified vehicles differ from conventional motorvehicles because they are selectively driven by one or more batterypowered electric machines. Conventional motor vehicles, by contrast,rely exclusively on the internal combustion engine to propel thevehicle.

A high voltage battery pack typically powers the electric machines andother electrical loads of the electrified vehicle. The battery packincludes a plurality of battery cells that must be periodicallyrecharged to replenish the energy necessary to power these loads. Thebattery pack is typically charged by connecting the vehicle to anexternal power source that transfers electric energy to the batterypack.

Most drivers plug-in their electrified vehicle for charging immediatelyafter completing a trip. The battery pack is then charged to a fullstate of charge where it remains until the next trip begins. Thus, thebattery packs are maintained at or near their full state of charge overa majority of their service life. Maintaining the batteries atrelatively high states of charge for prolonged periods of time cannegatively impact battery cell capacity and aging (i.e., reduced overallcapacity and performance in terms of charging/discharging capabilities).

SUMMARY

A method according to an exemplary aspect of the present disclosureincludes, among other things, controlling charging a battery pack of anelectrified vehicle, via a control system of the electrified vehicle,based on climate conditions, traffic conditions, and learned drivinghabits of a driver of the electrified vehicle.

In a further non-limiting embodiment of the foregoing method,controlling the charging includes determining an excepted upcoming drivecycle to be traveled by the electrified vehicle.

In a further non-limiting embodiment of either of the foregoing methods,determining the expected upcoming drive cycle is based on historicalroute information associated with the electrified vehicle.

In a further non-limiting embodiment of any of the foregoing methods,the method includes determining whether the electrified vehicle ison-plug.

In a further non-limiting embodiment of any of the foregoing methods,the method includes determining an amount of charge necessary tocomplete an expected upcoming drive cycle of the electrified vehicle ifthe electrified vehicle is on-plug.

In a further non-limiting embodiment of any of the foregoing methods,the method includes determining whether the amount of charge necessaryto complete the expected upcoming drive cycle is greater than a currentstate of charge of the battery pack.

In a further non-limiting embodiment of any of the foregoing methods,the method includes charging the battery pack if the amount of chargenecessary to complete the expected upcoming drive cycle is greater thanthe current state of charge of the battery pack.

In a further non-limiting embodiment of any of the foregoing methods,the method includes adding zero charge to the battery pack if thecurrent state of charge of the battery pack exceeds the amount of chargenecessary to complete the expected upcoming drive cycle.

In a further non-limiting embodiment of any of the foregoing methods,controlling the charging includes creating a smart charging schedulebased on the climate conditions, the traffic conditions, and the learneddriving habits.

In a further non-limiting embodiment of any of the foregoing methods,the smart charging schedule is further based on GPS information.

In a further non-limiting embodiment of any of the foregoing methods,the smart charging schedule is further based on an energy consumptionper mile value of the electrified vehicle.

In a further non-limiting embodiment of any of the foregoing methods,the smart charging schedule is further based on a current state ofcharge of the battery pack.

In a further non-limiting embodiment of any of the foregoing methods,the smart charging schedule is further based on calendar informationfrom a mobile device of the driver.

In a further non-limiting embodiment of any of the foregoing methods,the smart charging schedule either adds charge to the battery pack oradds zero charge to the battery pack.

In a further non-limiting embodiment of any of the foregoing methods,controlling the charging includes creating a decision tree fordetermining an amount of charge necessary to complete an expectedupcoming drive cycle of the electrified vehicle.

A vehicle system, according to another exemplary aspect of the presentdisclosure includes, among other things, a battery pack and a controlsystem configured to create a smart charging schedule for either addingor not adding an additional charge to the battery pack in anticipationof an expected upcoming drive cycle. The smart charging schedule isprepared based on weather conditions, traffic conditions, and learneddriving habits associated with the expected upcoming drive cycle.

In a further non-limiting embodiment of the foregoing vehicle system, anavigation system is configured to communicate GPS information to thecontrol system.

In a further non-limiting embodiment of either of the foregoing vehiclesystems, the control system includes at least one control moduleconfigured to control a charging system for selectively adding theadditional charge to the battery pack.

In a further non-limiting embodiment of any of the foregoing vehiclesystems, the charging system includes a switch selectively actuated toshut-off or prevent charging of the battery pack.

In a further non-limiting embodiment of any of the foregoing vehiclesystems, the smart charging schedule is further based on at least one ofGPS information, an energy consumption per mile value, a current stateof charge of the battery pack, and calendar information.

The embodiments, examples, and alternatives of the preceding paragraphs,the claims, or the following description and drawings, including any oftheir various aspects or respective individual features, may be takenindependently or in any combination. Features described in connectionwith one embodiment are applicable to all embodiments, unless suchfeatures are incompatible.

The various features and advantages of this disclosure will becomeapparent to those skilled in the art from the following detaileddescription. The drawings that accompany the detailed description can bebriefly described as follows.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 schematically illustrates a powertrain of an electrified vehicle.

FIG. 2 schematically illustrates a vehicle system of an electrifiedvehicle.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating a control system of the vehiclesystem of FIG. 2.

FIG. 4 is a decision tree that can be used for storing historicalbattery state of charge usage.

FIG. 5 schematically illustrates an exemplary method for controllingcharging of a battery pack of an electrified vehicle.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

This disclosure describes vehicle systems and methods for controllingcharging of one or more energy storage devices of an electrified vehiclebattery pack. An exemplary charging method includes controlling chargingof a battery pack of an electrified vehicle based on at least climateconditions, traffic conditions, and learned driving habits of a driverof the electrified vehicle. A vehicle system may be programmed tocontrol charging based on these and other factors in order to maximizethe longevity of battery pack energy storage devices by minimizing theduration that the energy storage devices are maintained at or near afull state of charge. These and other features are discussed in greaterdetail in the following paragraphs of this detailed description.

FIG. 1 schematically illustrates a powertrain 10 of an electrifiedvehicle 12. The electrified vehicle 12 may be a battery electric vehicle(BEV) or a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV), for example.Therefore, although not shown in this embodiment, the electrifiedvehicle 12 could be equipped with an internal combustion engine that canbe employed either alone or in combination with other energy sources topropel the electrified vehicle 12.

In the illustrated embodiment, the electrified vehicle 12 is a fullelectric vehicle propelled solely through electric power, such as by anelectric machine 14, without any assistance from an internal combustionengine. The electric machine 14 may operate as an electric motor, anelectric generator, or both. The electric machine 14 receives electricalpower and provides a rotational output power. The electric machine 14may be connected to a gearbox 16 for adjusting the output torque andspeed of the electric machine 14 by a predetermined gear ratio. Thegearbox 16 is connected to a set of drive wheels 18 by an output shaft20. A voltage bus 22 electrically connects the electric machine 14 to abattery pack 24 through an inverter 26. The electric machine 14, thegearbox 16, and the inverter 26 may be collectively referred to as atransmission 28.

The battery pack 24 is an exemplary electrified vehicle battery. Thebattery pack 24 may be a high voltage traction battery pack thatincludes a plurality of battery assemblies 25 (i.e., battery arrays orgroupings of battery cells) capable of outputting electrical power tooperate the electric machine 14 and/or other electrical loads of theelectrified vehicle 12 for providing the power necessary to propel thewheels 18. Other types of energy storage devices and/or output devicescan also be used to electrically power the electrified vehicle 12.

The electrified vehicle 12 is also be equipped with a charging system 30for charging the energy storage devices (e.g., battery cells) of thebattery pack 24. The charging system 30 can be connected to an externalpower source for receiving and distributing power received from theexternal power source to the battery pack 24.

The powertrain 10 of FIG. 1 is highly schematic and is not intended tolimit this disclosure. Various additional components could alternativelyor additionally be employed by the powertrain 10 within the scope ofthis disclosure. In addition, the teachings of this disclosure may beincorporated into any type of electrified vehicle, including but notlimited to cars, trucks, sport utility vehicles, boats, planes, etc.

FIG. 2 is a highly schematic depiction of a vehicle system 56 that maybe employed within an electrified vehicle, such as electrified vehicle12 of FIG. 1. The various components of the vehicle system 56 are shownschematically to better illustrate the features of this disclosure.These components; however, are not necessarily depicted in the exactlocations at which they would be found in an actual vehicle.

The vehicle system 56 is adapted to control charging of the energystorage devices (e.g., battery cells) of a high voltage traction batterypack 24 in a manner that reduces battery degradation over the servicelife of the battery pack 24. For example, in an embodiment, the vehiclesystem 56 may intelligently control battery pack 24 charging byanalyzing various factors, such as driving habits, vehicle status,external environmental conditions (e.g., weather, traffic, etc.),availability of charging infrastructure, etc., and then executing anoptimized charging method based on these factors.

In an embodiment, the exemplary vehicle system 56 includes the batterypack 24, a charging system 30, a control system 60, and a navigationsystem 76. The battery pack 24 may include one or more battery arrayseach having a plurality of battery cells or other energy storagedevices. The energy storage devices of the battery pack 24 storeelectrical energy that is selectively supplied to power variouselectrical loads residing onboard the electrified vehicle 12. Theseelectrical loads may include various high voltage loads (e.g., electricmachines, etc.) or various low voltage loads (e.g., lighting systems,low voltage batteries, logic circuitry, etc.). The energy storagedevices of the battery pack 24 are depleted of energy over time andtherefore must be periodically recharged. Recharging can be achievedusing the charging system 30 based on a smart charging control methodexecuted by the control system 60, the details of which are furtherdiscussed below.

The charging system 30 may include a power cord 62 that connects betweena charging port 64 of a vehicle inlet assembly 65 (located onboard theelectrified vehicle 12) and an external power source 58. In anembodiment, the external power source 58 includes utility grid power. Inanother embodiment, the external power source 58 includes an alternativeenergy source, such as solar power, wind power, etc. In yet anotherembodiment, the external power source 34 includes a combination ofutility grid power and alternative energy sources. The external powersource 58 is located at a charging location L1. Exemplary charginglocations include but are not limited to a public charging stationlocated along the drive route, a driver's home, or a parking garage, forexample.

Power from the external power source 58 may be selectively transferredover the power cord 62 to the electrified vehicle 12 for charging theenergy storage devices of the battery pack 24. The charging system 30may be equipped with power electronics configured to convert AC powerreceived from the external power source to DC power for charging theenergy source devices of the battery pack 24. The charging system 30 mayalso be configured to accommodate one or more conventional voltagesources from the external power source 58. In other embodiments, thecharging system 30 could be a wireless charging system or a DC fastcharging system.

In yet another embodiment, the charging system 30 includes a switch 68for controlling the transfer of power to the battery pack 24. The switch68 can be selectively actuated (i.e., opened) to stop or preventcharging the battery pack 24, such as when the battery pack 24 reaches atarget state of charge (SOC) level at the charging location L1. In anembodiment, the switch 68 is movable between a closed position (shown insolid lines) in which power is permitted to flow to the battery pack 24and an open position (shown in phantom lines) in which power isprohibited from flowing to the battery pack 24.

The control system 60 of the vehicle system 56 may control charging ofthe battery pack 24 by controlling operation of the charging system 30.For example, as further discussed below, the control system 60 maycontrol the charging of the battery pack 24 in a manner that reduces theamount of time the battery pack 24 is maintained at or near a full stateof charge. To achieve this, the control system 60 may control whencharging begins and ends, the length of charging, the power levels ofthe charging, etc.

The control system 60 may be part of an overall vehicle control systemor could be a separate control system that communicates with the vehiclecontrol system. The control system 60 may include one or more controlmodules 78 equipped with executable instructions for interfacing withand commanding operation of various components of the vehicle system 56.For example, in an embodiment, each of the battery pack 24, the chargingsystem 30, and the navigation system 76 include a control module, andthese control modules can communicate with one another over a controllerarea network to control charging of the battery pack 24. In anothernon-limiting embodiment, each control module 78 of the control system 60includes a processing unit 72 and non-transitory memory 74 for executingthe various control strategies and modes of the vehicle system 56.

The navigation system 76 may include a global positioning system (GPS)configured for communicating drive route information to the controlsystem 60. The navigation system 76 may include a user interface 79located inside the electrified vehicle 12 for displaying the drive routeand other related information. A user may interact with the userinterface 79 via a touch screen, buttons, audible speech, speechsynthesis, etc. In an embodiment, the drive route can be manuallyentered into the navigation system 76 using the user interface 79. Inanother embodiment, the drive route can be inferred based on historicaldata accumulated from prior drive routes the user has planned/traveled.Such historical route information may be saved within the navigationsystem 76 or within the non-transitory memory 74 of the control module78 of the control system 60, for example.

The navigation system 76 may communicate additional information to thecontrol system 60. This additional information could include thelocation of various charging locations along the drive route, chargingcosts associated with each charging location, etc.

In an embodiment, the control system 60 (and, optionally, the navigationsystem 76) may communicate over a cloud database 80 (i.e., the internet)to obtain various information stored on one or more servers 82. Eachserver 82 can identify, collect, and store user data associated with theelectrified vehicle 12 for validation purposes. Upon an authorizedrequest, data may be subsequently transmitted to the navigation system76, or directly to the control system 60, via a cellular tower 84 orsome other known communication technique (e.g., Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, etc.).The control system 60 and the navigation system 76 may each include atransceiver 86 for achieving bidirectional communication with thecellular tower 84. For example, the transceiver 86 can receive data fromthe server 82 or can communicate data back to the server 82 via thecellular tower 84. Although not necessarily shown or described in thishighly schematic embodiment, numerous other components may enablebidirectional communication between the electrified vehicle 12 and theweb-based servers 82.

The data received by the control system 60 from the navigation system 76and/or the server 82 may be used in combination with other data tocreate a charging schedule for charging the battery pack 24. Asdiscussed in greater detail below, the control system 60 may gather,analyze and/or calculate various data when planning the chargingschedule.

Referring now primarily to FIG. 3, the control module 78 of the controlsystem 60 may receive and process various inputs for creating a smartcharging schedule 88 for charging the battery pack 24. A first input tothe control module 78 may include learned driving habits 90 of a driverof the electrified vehicle 12. The learned driving habits 90 may beinferred or learned values that are based on historical usage dataassociated with the electrified vehicle 12. For example, the controlmodule 78 may learn the times a day the electrified vehicle 12 isoperated by control logic and/or algorithms included within the controlmodule 78. The learned times of day may correspond to a time of day on aspecific day of the week based on the frequency or historical use of theelectrified vehicle 12 relative to that time of day. In an embodiment,the learned times of day may further correspond to a time of day on aspecific day of the week that the power cord 62 is removed from thevehicle inlet assembly 65 or any other action that is indicative of anexpected upcoming vehicle drive cycle. The learned times may be recordedwithin the memory 74 of the control module 78 each time that signals arereceived by the control module 78 indicating that the power cord 62 isremoved from the vehicle inlet assembly 65, or any other action that isindicative of an expected upcoming vehicle drive cycle. In anembodiment, a learning tool such as a probabilistic model or neuralnetwork is used to infer or predict the learned driving habits 90. Inanother embodiment, a cloud based computing tool can be used to providethe learned driving habits. However, the specific methodology used topredict the learned driving habits 90 is not intended to limit thisdisclosure.

A second input to the control module 78 may include climate conditions92. The climate conditions 92 may be received from one of the servers 82over the cloud database 80. In an embodiment, the climate conditions 92include a prediction of the state of the ambient surroundings (e.g.,temperature, sun, rain, wind, etc.) for a given location on a given dateand time associated with the expected upcoming drive cycle.

A third input to the control module 78 may include traffic conditions94. The traffic conditions 94 may be received from another one of theservers 82 over the cloud database 80. In an embodiment, the trafficconditions 94 include a prediction of the traffic situation (e.g.,light, heavy, etc.) for a given location on a given date and timeassociated with the expected upcoming drive cycle.

A fourth input to the control module 78 may include GPS information 96from the navigation system 76. The GPS information 96 may include but isnot limited to location information (e.g., home, work place, etc.), dateand time information (e.g., AM, PM, night, day, etc.), and charginglocation information (e.g., charging type, availability, costs, etc.).

A fifth input to the control module 78 may include vehicle information98. The vehicle information 98 may be communicated from a vehiclecontrol module that is separate from the control module 78 and mayinclude information such as energy consumption per mile (i.e.,kWh/mile), etc.

A sixth input to the control module 78 may include battery information100. The battery information 100 may be communicated from a batteryelectric control module associated with the battery pack 24 and mayinclude information such as current battery state of charge, batterytemperature, battery age, etc.

A seventh input to the control module 78 may include driver information102. The driver information 102 may be received from a personalelectronic device, such as a cell phone, of the driver of theelectrified vehicle and may include calendar information and otherdriver specific information.

Relying on the various inputs 90-102, the control module 78 may beprogrammed to execute one or more algorithms for creating the smartcharging schedule 88. The smart charging schedule 88 can be used tocontrol charging of the battery pack 24 during a subsequent chargingevent.

An exemplary implementation of an algorithm for creating the smartcharging schedule 88 is as follows. In an embodiment, a classifier isused to categorize the trip history of a driver into actionableprobability estimates for the amount of battery pack 24 charge needed tocomplete the driver's daily set of trips. The smart charging schedule 88would only add charge to the battery pack 24 if the estimated chargerequired, plus some selectable charge safety margin, is greater than theexisting state of charge of the battery pack 24. Before making any routeestimates, the driver information 102 may be checked by accessing acalendar application on the driver's mobile device. If destinations arelisted on the driver's calendar, a trip chain can be built from theprobability determined driving distance and the calendar definedlocations. The vehicle information 98, such as energy consumption permile, can be combined with the trip chain to determine an amount ofcharge that is required to allow the driver to reach each of theirdestinations without experiencing range anxiety.

Alternatively, if the driver information 102 is not available (i.e., thedriver's mobile device is not connected or is otherwise unavailable),the control module 78 may proceed by building a decision tree 104. Asshown in FIG. 4, the decision tree 104 may have various branchesincluding 1) the time period and day of the week for an expectedupcoming drive cycle; 2) expected traffic conditions during the expectedupcoming drive cycle; and 3) expected weather conditions during theexpected upcoming drive cycle. Historical trip data can be binned into atotal of 336 possible containers based on two hour segments for each ofthe seven days of the week combined with the binary factors rating theexpected traffic conditions (e.g., high or low) and the expected weatherconditions (e.g., typical or severe).

Each time the charging system 30 is activated for charging the batterypack 24, the control module 78 may execute the algorithm for determiningthe smart charging schedule 88 for a predefined amount of time, forexample, 24 hours. The predefined amount of time can be adjusted basedon the historical charging frequency of the driver.

Next, the historical net charge usage over the predefined amount of timecan be analyzed to determine the probability of various charge options,for example, in 10 kWh increments. The net kWh required for the expectedupcoming drive cycle is then compared to the present state of charge ofthe battery pack 24, and if the required amount of charge for theexpected upcoming drive cycle exceeds the present state of charge of thebattery pack 24, the charging system 30 is commanded to add charge tothe battery pack 24. This may include controlling the charging system 30to implement a combination of continuous and intermittent charging atmultiple charging rates and regulating the battery pack 24 temperaturebefore or during the charging. Otherwise, if the present state of chargeexceeds the required amount of charge necessary to complete an expectedupcoming drive cycle, no charge is added to the battery pack 24, or onlyenough charge is added to the battery pack 24 that is necessary to reacha safe state of charge level.

FIG. 5, with continued reference to FIGS. 1-4, illustrates an exemplarymethod 200 for controlling charging of the battery pack 24 of theelectrified vehicle 12. In an embodiment, the control module 78 isprogrammed with one or more algorithms adapted to execute the exemplarymethod 200.

The method 200 begins at block 202. At block 204, the control module 78determines whether the electrified vehicle 12 is on-plug (i.e., thecharging system 30 has been connected to an external power source). Forexample, the control module 78 may periodically analyze signals receivedfrom the charging system 30 to determine whether it has been connectedto the external power source 58. If a YES flag is returned at block 204,the method 200 proceeds to block 206.

Next, at block 206, the control module 78 may determine the amount ofcharge necessary for powering the electrified vehicle 12 over anexpected upcoming drive cycle. This may include analyzing each of theinputs 90-102.

The amount of charge necessary for the expected upcoming drive cycle isthen compared with the current state of charge of the battery pack 24 atblock 208. The state of charge of the battery pack 24 is increased atblock 210 if the current state of charge is less than the amount ofcharge necessary for the upcoming drive cycle. Alternatively, charge isnot added to the battery pack 24 at block 212 if the current state ofcharge is greater than the amount of charge necessary for the upcomingdrive cycle.

The vehicle systems and methods of this disclosure provide intelligentcharging of electrified vehicle energy storage devices by predicting adriver's intent in order to minimize the amount of time the energystorage devices are charged to a full or near full state of charge. The“smart” charging methods of this disclosure thus improve customersatisfaction, increase usable electric range over the vehicle's servicelife, and reduce warranty costs associated with degraded energy storagedevices.

Although the different non-limiting embodiments are illustrated ashaving specific components or steps, the embodiments of this disclosureare not limited to those particular combinations. It is possible to usesome of the components or features from any of the non-limitingembodiments in combination with features or components from any of theother non-limiting embodiments.

It should be understood that like reference numerals identifycorresponding or similar elements throughout the several drawings. Itshould be understood that although a particular component arrangement isdisclosed and illustrated in these exemplary embodiments, otherarrangements could also benefit from the teachings of this disclosure.

The foregoing description shall be interpreted as illustrative and notin any limiting sense. A worker of ordinary skill in the art wouldunderstand that certain modifications could come within the scope ofthis disclosure. For these reasons, the following claims should bestudied to determine the true scope and content of this disclosure.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method, comprising: controlling charging abattery pack of an electrified vehicle, via a control system of theelectrified vehicle, based on climate conditions, traffic conditions,and learned driving habits of a driver of the electrified vehicle. 2.The method as recited in claim 1, wherein controlling the chargingincludes determining an excepted upcoming drive cycle to be traveled bythe electrified vehicle.
 3. The method as recited in claim 2, whereindetermining the expected upcoming drive cycle is based on historicalroute information associated with the electrified vehicle.
 4. The methodas recited in claim 1, comprising determining whether the electrifiedvehicle is on-plug.
 5. The method as recited in claim 4, comprisingdetermining an amount of charge necessary to complete an expectedupcoming drive cycle of the electrified vehicle if the electrifiedvehicle is on-plug.
 6. The method as recited in claim 5, comprisingdetermining whether the amount of charge necessary to complete theexpected upcoming drive cycle is greater than a current state of chargeof the battery pack.
 7. The method as recited in claim 6, comprisingcharging the battery pack if the amount of charge necessary to completethe expected upcoming drive cycle is greater than the current state ofcharge of the battery pack.
 8. The method as recited in claim 6,comprising adding zero charge to the battery pack if the current stateof charge of the battery pack exceeds the amount of charge necessary tocomplete the expected upcoming drive cycle.
 9. The method as recited inclaim 1, wherein controlling the charging includes creating a smartcharging schedule based on the climate conditions, the trafficconditions, and the learned driving habits.
 10. The method as recited inclaim 9, wherein the smart charging schedule is further based on GPSinformation.
 11. The method as recited in claim 9, wherein the smartcharging schedule is further based on an energy consumption per milevalue of the electrified vehicle.
 12. The method as recited in claim 9,wherein the smart charging schedule is further based on a current stateof charge of the battery pack.
 13. The method as recited in claim 9,wherein the smart charging schedule is further based on calendarinformation from a mobile device of the driver.
 14. The method asrecited in claim 9, wherein the smart charging schedule either addscharge to the battery pack or adds zero charge to the battery pack. 15.The method as recited in claim 1, wherein controlling the chargingincludes creating a decision tree for determining an amount of chargenecessary to complete an expected upcoming drive cycle of theelectrified vehicle.
 16. A vehicle system, comprising: a battery pack;and a control system configured to create a smart charging schedule foreither adding or not adding an additional charge to the battery pack inanticipation of an expected upcoming drive cycle, wherein the smartcharging schedule is prepared based on weather conditions, trafficconditions, and learned driving habits associated with the expectedupcoming drive cycle.
 17. The vehicle system as recited in claim 16,comprising a navigation system configured to communicate GPS informationto the control system.
 18. The vehicle system as recited in claim 16,wherein the control system includes at least one control moduleconfigured to control a charging system for selectively adding theadditional charge to the battery pack.
 19. The vehicle system as recitedin claim 18, wherein the charging system includes a switch selectivelyactuated to shut-off or prevent charging of the battery pack.
 20. Thevehicle system as recited in claim 16, wherein the smart chargingschedule is further based on at least one of GPS information, an energyconsumption per mile value, a current state of charge of the batterypack, and calendar information.